Orange Cinnamon Rolls

I received the cookbook Homemade Memories (by Kate of The Little Loaf) last summer when it was released, and I was so excited to create a recipe from it fitting the theme of the book. I already had blog posts planned out for the summer and was hoping to get this one out around Christmas time. Then I got sick with a crazy virus in the fall and winter, which meant I was posting even less than normal and things got pushed back. (Being sick is so annoying.) I was then hoping to get it out in the spring, but other things popped up and it got moved around again. Now here we are in August, almost September, more than a year later. Hi! Welcome to the lifecycle of a Cake Over Steak blog post. The truth is I have way more ideas for this blog than I could ever have time for, and sometimes that’s just the way it goes around here.

Blogging truly takes soooo much time. I try to put a lot of thoughtfulness and energy into the recipe testing for my posts, and sometimes that also coincides with planning real-life parties. It’s a lot of work, but it’s also part of what I love about blogging. So when I get these posts out into the world that have been brewing here in the background for a long time, it feels that much sweeter. The quick and dirty ones that pop up and get published right away are also fun for me, but it’s often the posts like this one that can mean a lot more to me.

Kate’s book, with the tagline “childhood treats with a twist,” is all about making those things you ate as a kid. Maybe they came from a box mix or wrapped in plastic, but she teaches you how to make them from scratch instead. Figuring out ways to make my favorite store-bought items from scratch is something that always gets me fired up about being in the kitchen. Since she is from the UK, a lot of her recipes are totally foreign to me, and are made even more foreign by her use of descriptive words like “squidge.” I’m not really sure what that means, although it feels kind of self-explanatory and I really like it. I’m making a mental note to use it myself in everyday language. (Feel free to comment and use it in a sentence for me so I can practice.) I also appreciate her use of interesting flours, both for an added nutritional element and to impart extra flavor, like in her wholemeal toaster pastries.

When I saw her recipe for orange and honey iced buns, it made me think of the Pillsbury Orange Sweet Rolls. Every Christmas morning at my house we eat the Pillsbury cinnamon rolls, both the orange and the regular kinds. When Robert came along he pointed out that my family kept referring to them as “danishes,” which is super weird, right? They’re not what I would normally call a danish – I would call them a cinnamon roll, but not a danish. Where did this come from? Did they used to say danish on the package? Someone please help me out here. (UPDATE: My mom found the origin of “danish.”)

Anyway, moving on – Seeing that recipe pop up in her book, I realized I had never attempted to make those from scratch instead of making the Pillsbury kind, even though I’m a food blogger who loves to bake. That was my lightbulb moment and I knew I had to figure out a recipe to make these orange cinnamon rolls from scratch.

I worked through a few versions of this recipe, starting with her orange honey buns as a guide and referring to some other cinnamon roll recipes. While they’re not quite the same as the Pillsbury ones, I’d say they have the essence of them. They have the same familiar sweet tanginess thanks to the orange glaze, but they’re much larger (yay), lighter and fluffier than the original. I don’t think my family will ever get rid of our Pillsbury tradition entirely, but maybe they’ll let me add these to the lineup. And even though this recipe makes me think of Christmas, they’d obviously be delicious at any time of year.

I’d like to say a belated congrats to Kate on her beautiful book! And congrats to her again, as she’s been busy taking care of her new little one.

GIVEAWAY!

Not only has this post been hanging out in the background for over a year, but I’ve also had an extra copy of this book sitting in my apartment, waiting to be sent to one of my lovely readers. You can use the rafflecopter widget below to enter. The giveaway will close on Monday, September 5, 2016 at midnight.

In a small bowl, combine the yeast with the 2 tbsp warm water and ¼ tsp sugar. Let that sit for a few minutes. It should foam and bubble up.

In the bowl of your stand mixer, stir together the flours and salt. Set aside.

In a medium saucepan, combine the milk, orange zest, butter and honey. Heat gently until the butter begins to melt. Then remove from the heat and stir until completely melted. It should feel warm if you put your finger to it, but not hot.

Slowly stir the beaten eggs into the milk mixture, whisking constantly, and then add the yeast. Stir to combine.

Pour the wet ingredients into the flour mixture.

Using your stand mixer, knead with the dough hook until it forms a smooth dough. It will be sticking to the sides of the bowl, but if you stop it and push the dough in with a spatula, it should stick to itself.

Cover with a towel and let it sit in a warm place for about an hour or until it's doubled in size.

Meanwhile, combine the sugar and cinnamon in a small bowl and set aside.

Once the dough has risen, place it on a lightly floured work surface and use a rolling pin to roll it to an 11x15-inch rectangle. Use a pastry brush to cover the surface with the melted butter (for the filling), and then sprinkle the cinnamon sugar mixture on top. Try to cover it all the way out to the edges.

Starting at the long edge, roll the dough up into a log and pinch the edges to seal. If the ends are skinny, squish the whole thing together to make it more uniform. Use a sharp knife to cut the dough into 12 equal slices.

Line a jelly roll pan (half sheet pan) with parchment paper. Place the rolls cut side down on the pan, leaving space between them for rising. Cover with plastic wrap and let it rise again in a warm place until they have doubled in size (about an hour).

About twenty minutes before you want to bake them, heat your oven to 400°F.

Remove the plastic wrap and bake the rolls on the pan for 11-12 minutes, or until pale golden on top. Let them rest for a few minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.

Make the icing:

Gently warm the zest, juice and honey together in a small saucepan until the honey becomes runny. (You could also microwave them on a low setting for about 30 seconds, if you'd prefer.) Remove from the heat, add the sugar and whisk until smooth. If it seems too thick, add more orange juice. However, you want it to be a fairly thick, spreadable consistency or else it will fall off the rolls too easily. It should drip off of a fork very slowly.

Once the rolls have cooled, use a knife to spread the top of each with plenty of glaze. Allow it to harden as it comes to room temperature.

Store the rolls at room temperature in an airtight container. They are best the day they are made, but will keep for a few.

Comments

Dang girl, you’ve been holding out on a cookbook giveaway too?! :) Is it weird that I hardly ever have had orange cinnamon rolls? Buuut I think I kind of would love the combo! xo p.s. Your pictures are so gooood!

You’ve got to try them!!! And I actually took these photos back in Jan or Feb before the workshop, but I think the editing tips I’ve learned since then really helped me bring these to a better spot. Thanks girl! xoxo

Wow, these rolls look amazing, thank you for sharing the recipe. And thank you also for a nice inspiration. My favorite childhood meal was potato damplings with poppy seads, butter and sugar…and I still love it. Hana

Hmmm. I think Pillsbury did call them ‘Orange Danish’ at one time, but I could be wrong. Could be that your grandmother used the term Danish pretty loosely, haha. Either way, they still taste like Christmas morning.

Okay are we long lost relatives or something? We seem to have so much in common from our love of cocktails (of the tequila variety especially) to our Gilmore Girls obsession. But apparently, we both eat the Pillsbury orange cinnamon rolls for breakfast on Christmas! Whoa! These look delicious though–pillowy like a cloud of sugar and spice. Cannot WAIT to try! :)

Adore the new drawings, and am contemplating printing the cinnamon roll as art for the office… May I? As for a favorite childhood treat, that’s hands down my mum’s brown sugar cinnamon kringle. We enjoy it only at Christmas, which makes it that much sweeter! Thanks, and CHEERS.

Beautiful Sara! Such stunning photos – I love how puffy the dough looks in the pre-bake shots, I want to just sleep on those pillows of dough.
I LOVE orange rolls, undeniably more so than cinnamon rolls for some reason. They are just so good, any time of the season! :)

Sara, these look delicious (love the illustration and photos), and I would be happy to have you make them for Christmas morning! Of course, we would have to have some of the regular Pillsbury Cinnamon Rolls to go with them. haha Here is a link to an ad from 1961, when Pillsbury Orange Danish was introduced: https://www.pinterest.com/pin/238901955208070836/

I went through a serious childhood phase of loving Little Debbie Swiss Cake Rolls. I would unroll the first layer and eat it, then eat the little inner roll, trying to make the experience last longer. Haha. Rolls + sugar = sweet memories.

Oh man, I can taste the Pillsbury version just thinking about them! I love how puffy and gorgeous yours are – definitely going to have to try these. (pretty sure my newborn just smirked at me like, yeah right, mom, how about just trying for that daily shower…)

Oh congrats on the newborn!!! Haha … maybe focus on the shower first? ;-) The nice thing about these is that there are a few built-in rest periods, and no one part actually takes that long to do. Maybe that would actually work for your hectic lifestyle with a new baby!

Some things are worth waiting for, and these rolls definitely fit the bill. I never had the Pilsbury orange rolls when I was a kid – my family didn’t like to stray too much from the very basics. Now as an adult, I crave orange cinnamon rolls like my life depends on it. I can’t wait to try your version!

So about 2 years ago I went on a maaajor cinnamon roll bender and I think this recipe is about to kick off another round!! Those beautiful photos are making me want to just pull one out of the screen. I don’t remember having pillsbury rolls as a kid, but I did love those cut-out holiday sugar cookies that came in a tube! Not sure if they would still have the same charm…

Haha! A cinnamon roll bender sounds intense! And I think you mean the slice and bake cookies? There was something about those where they were way too easy to eat, like I would eat one and then just need to keep eating them … ya know? I hope you love these!

Kudos to you for sticking with the blog and holding a day job. You are a boss! Seriously, it takes so much work and it’s easy to get discouraged sometimes but you do such amazing work that I know I don’t mind waiting for it. For example: This post. I’m hungry now.

The Pillsbury version of this recipe is my son’s favorite breakfast splurge! I’d LOVE LOVE LOVE to serve him homemade orange danishes!! Thanks for sharing this recipe and of sharing the opportunity to win a new cookbook!

Oh my goodness, my family has a very similar tradition with orange rolls, and we only got them on special occasions. My siblings and I grew up swimming, and those 5am practices before high school were brutal, but when we sometimes got back home and smelled cinnamon and orange floating through the house, nothing else mattered and my parents were the heroes of the day! I will definitely have to try your version to surprise them with next time :-)

Whoa, 5am swim practices?! Crazy! If that were my life I probably could have eaten a whole tube of those orange cinnamon rolls for breakfast. Your parents definitely win for serving those up for you after a morning practice. That sounds perfect – I hope you enjoy this version!

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